Blog Archives

Do you have any idea how tasty your morning oatmeal will be, now that you have the opportunity to garnish it with succulent, wild Nova Scotia-grown blueberries? You must pre-pay with cash or cheque when you sign up for your bag(s) tomorrow and Nov 11th. Delivery will be Nov 18th at noon so you may want to bring an insulated container – newspapers work too it you’re a peasant like me. If you place an order and can’t attend on the 18th – you MUST make arrangements with someone for pickup. $20 for a 4.2 pound frozen bag with a whopping $9 of this going straight into the grateful coffers of your favorite community endeavor – Hamilton Sings. It’s a great way to make a contribution while ensuring a quality breakfast oatmeal (or muffin, cake, smoothie, blueberry balsamic glazed chicken, blueberry Brie & lemon curd grilled cheese – seriously, blueberries are a foodie essential. Check out this link for further culinary inspiration.

The Christmas season looms and so does our end of term concert/bake and craft sale on Saturday Dec 2nd. Are you practicing at home, utilizing those handy voice files found on our hamiltonsings.ca private members page? At the risk of repeating myself – those files are a darn useful learning tool. Check ‘em out!

Last week’s Halloween social was a big hit. Please see the attached photos for irrefutable proof of a good time had by all.

Remember to bring a snack to share and your spookiest alter-ego to practice tomorrow. We’ll be rehearsing without a break until approximately 11:20 to allow time for our Halloween social in the back end of our rehearsal space before the string quartet shows up at 12:30. Your fellow chorister Lori has some party games up her sleeve, best costume prizes are to be had, and our choir leaders will rev up the fun with some popular Halloween tunes. Scary, very scary.

Friday November 10th. The now infamous James Street Art Crawl now includes you. We’ve been invited to perform at Christ’s Church Cathedral. Time and details to follow. Sign up sheets at the front desk tomorrow.

Your contributions of time and/or legal tender are what allows us to carry on. It takes resources to make something as special as Hamilton Sings happen – and believe me, these resources are not funding a Malibu beach house. Music, rehearsal space, professional choir direction, must all be paid for – so sign up to help out, and/or shell out.. Our Treasurer Tom Ciancone would be most happy to meet you.

Did somebody mention blueberries? Canadian grown, antioxidant-laden, purple orbs of deliciousness? Rumor has it that we members of the choir may have an in on some 5lb bags of frozen berries at a very attractive price but I’ll let Jill expand on this delightful possibility tomorrow .

A non-affiliated group of singers who just can’t seem to get enough, The Sunshine Singers, meet a couple of times a month for practice at noon in HARRP’s downstairs lounge and invite you to join in. The Sunshine Singers lead a singalong on the last Wednesday of every month (excluding December, July, and August) from 6:30pm to 7:30pm at the Baywoods long term care facility, located at the corner of Victoria and Main. We were there this past Wednesday and the big hit was Witch Doctor – who knew such gyrating could be done in a mobility device? Awesome..

So, have you got a Halloween costume pulled together yet? If you’re like me, with the imagination of a stinging army ant, you can lean on your creative friends for ideas. I’m relying on a work mate who is particularly gifted at that sort of thing. We’ve wavered between a paper bag princess, forest nymph, and Bette Miller, but I just can’t decide! I’m immovable on one detail – my costume must be made from stuff I already have around the house. I’m so looking forward to seeing what you all come up with for our social next Saturday Oct 28th after practice. Don’t forget to bring some snacks to share.

Reminder that a Tuesday evening iteration of our Saturday singing fun is about to launch October 28th, for a six week run at Delta United Church. Sign up via our membership page on hamiltonsings.ca. Cost is $120.

We’ve been invited to sing at Christ’s Church Cathedral for the art crawl evening of November 10th. More details to follow and a sign-up sheet will be available at the front desk for those interested.

Our end of term concert and bake sale is Saturday December 2nd (it’s going to be Christmas before you next blink folks). We really need you all to volunteer your unsuspecting family/neighbours/associates/yourself for the number of tasks required to help us make it a great success. Sign up today!

Hope this missive finds you all happy, healthy, and chock full of song. Tomorrow we gather together to raise our collective voices yet again. Have you ever heard of the butterfly effect? I like to think of what we do as the “swan effect” – somewhere else in the universe becomes more graceful and light due to the sounds we emanate Saturday mornings.

Please consider donating your time (or your children’s – friends’ – neighbour’s) towards making our term end concert a smash success. Read up on the virtues of volunteerism as stated on the United Nations web site:

“Volunteerism generates well-being for people and their communities. Volunteers are motivated by values such as justice, equality, and freedom, as expressed in the United Nations charter. A society that supports volunteering is likely to be a society which also supports the well-being of it’s citizens.” “Nuff said. Make your commitment at the front desk when you check in tomorrow!

Dates to remember:

Saturday October 28th – Halloween Social after practice in the downstairs lounge. Prizes for best costume, trivia games, and bring hand-held munchies to share.

Saturday December 2nd – End Of Term Concert, Bake and Craft sale. Take note that your attendance at the two prior rehearsals is mandatory for participation in this concert.

For those of you who just can’t get enough and/or are languishing on our waiting list – Hanna and Sue are offering a 6 week Tuesday night workshop, largely duplicating what we do Saturdays, 7 to 9 pm, from October 24 to December 5th. Location to be Delta Church, 47 Ottawa Street South. Cost of participation is $120. Interested individuals can contact info@hamiltonsings.com to register by October 20th. A minimum of 10 participants is required to cover the cost of venue rental and music.

Lamentably, board member and fellow voice Darlene Simpson, has had to depart us suddenly to return to Brantford. Best of luck on your future endeavors Darlene!

Welcome members! We are a forward thinking, optimistic, community-based entity, determined to promote these same values through song. I’m tickled pink to have the opportunity to meet with you Saturday mornings and look forward to a successful and enjoyable term. You guys are the best.

I sent you all the password to the active members page last week – did you note it? Our web master, Bob Edmonds, has made it really easy for you to find the voice files needed for at-home practice. Take advantage of this super resource so you can wow your voice mates with your prowess. Speaking for myself, I find it easier to practice my alto part a few times at home during the week so I don’t have to think about it Saturday mornings. Thinking is hard.

Fall is here and with that – a bigger day comes for some than Christmas. Yes my friends – I’m talking HALLOWEEN! Join your fellow singers for a Halloween social after practice on Saturday October 28th, noon till 1pm. Bring in a treat to share and compete for best costume prizes. That minx Hanna won last year, so don’t let it happen twice.

A non-spill refillable water container is vastly preferable to a single-use plastic one – you don’t want to know about plastics and the Pacific gyre garbage patch.

Consider investing in a music presentation folder – the sound of 80 loose leaf paper pages turning is deafening. We’ll be selling them at the front desk tomorrow for a mere $5, with all proceeds supporting the choir.

Remember to have fun, fun, fun. Repeat after me, fun.

Lastly, many of you will now be familiar with guest song leader Brendan Taaffe. Brendan will be collaborating on an event this coming January 27th – February 3rd, 2018, in the blissfully warm Caribbean setting of Cahuita, Costa Rica. Further information can be found here:

I’ve got precious little to tell you this week. Which is probably fine, as everyone is generally far too busy these days. Between family and work obligations, alongside the ever present noise of the internet and social media, we’ve all now got the attention span of a barnyard pullet.

But I digress. You have one very important detail to absorb here. There is a new password for the hamiltonsings.ca active members page. Check out the page frequently for very, very handy voice files that allow for practice at home. “Repetitio mater studiorum est” Repetition is the mother of all learning. Wise words carved into a statue somewhere . . .

This private members page is for YOUR EXCLUSIVE USE ONLY and is not to be shared with anyone. If Sue hears a copyright lawyer knocking at her door, it won’t be to chat about the weather. You get my drift?

We have some members who do a monthly sing-along at a Hamilton Long Term Care Home on the Last Wednesday of each month. Though the Sunshine Singers are from Hamilton Sings! they are not an affiliated group. However, Hamilton Sings! is always excited to collaborate when they can.

The Sunshine Singers meet Saturdays noon to one at HARRRP, and sing at Baywoods Place Long Term Care Home, located at 330 Main St. E. (just east of Victoria Avenue South) on the last Wednesday of each month, October, through June. (excluding the last Wednesday of December) arriving at 6:15 ready to sing from 6:30 to 7:15.

The Sunshine Singers are meeting new members Saturdays at 12:00 noon in the downstairs lounge at St. Peter’s HARRRP for about an hour to discuss songs and practice a few. The song list is fluid, fun, with oldies, popular hits, and campfire songs. The focus is on entertaining and encouraging the residents to participate. All degrees of talent and experience are most welcome.

If you have any further questions about the Sunshine Singers, please contact me at lori@dudziclaw.com rather than using the Hamilton Sings address. Looking forward to seeing you after practice on Saturday.

Just a reminder that tomorrow’s gathering at HARRRP commences at 10 am so please arrive no later than 9:45 to allow for front desk attendance and seating. We’re a full house these days, so it takes more time for settling in

Tomorrow is also the last day for those on the waiting list to check us out and determine if they truly would like to remain on the list. Additionally, members who are on the active list but due to circumstances, cannot in fact attend – please let us know so you can make way for waiting list people.

HARRRP (Hamilton Association for Residential and Recreational Redevelopment Programs) kindly donates us the space for our rehearsals however Hamilton Sings (that means you, buddy) donates back to the association and also must pay for other operational costs such as printing, copyright charges, choir direction, etc, etc. Please consider making a donation and/or contributing some volunteer hours towards our various fundraisers. If anyone needs an introduction to our numbers guru, Tom Ciancone (Treasuer), I’ll be happy to oblige. Take note that your donation also helps those among us that are less materially fortunate.

I found myself this morning doing a google search for some witty tidbit regarding the health benefits of singing. I commenced with this: Singing cures . . . . . And my browser auto-filled several answers: Singing cures depression/stuttering/snoring(really?) . . . Well, not sure about all that but I’m certain of this – singing makes me darn happy. See y’all tomorrow.

Time to put away your water wings, lock up the cottage, and greet the fall season with song. This Saturday September 16th we commence our fall term at HARRRP, 705 Main Street East. Please try to arrive no later than 9:45 am to allow time for registration and to settle into your seats for rehearsal start time of 10:00 am sharp.

September 16th and the 23rd are our two “orientation” sessions, designed to give participants time to decide if they truly want to commit to the entire term. After the 23rd, term membership is closed while we devote ourselves to practicing for our end of term concert. Please take note that as of today, we are at capacity with returning members. However those on the waiting list are invited to join us for the first two sessions for an opportunity to decide if they wish to remain on the list.

A few reminders regarding our community:

If you’re sick, stay home – we want your voice, not your cold!

Please bring dry shoes if the weather is wet, or the custodians will give you the evil eye.

Our choir leaders Sue Crowe Connelly and Hanna Mathieson bring a wealth of professional musical experience to our Saturday sessions. While Hamilton Sings is dear to their hearts, they both maintain full-time musical careers as well. Hanna has just been named as Hamilton’s Emerging Artist of 2017 by the Hamilton Arts Council. She was nominated by Kirk Stanley, who won established artist, and they are having a concert at the Pearl Company on September 23rd. Full concert details can be found here.

St. Peter’s HARRRP, 705 Main St E, Hamilton

Organize your sheet music. You’re going to look and sound real goofy on stage if you’re fumbling for your music rather than keeping your eyes up and focused on choir direction. Real goofy.

You gotta show for tomorrow’s and the April 29th dress rehearsals in order to participate in the Sunday April 30th concert at 3pm. I don’t know about you, but I need my co-altos on top of the material so they can support me with my weak spots. We are a community after all . . . . . . .

Our volunteer ranks are growing for the concert duties list – you guys are great! Please consider donating a new or gently used item on April 29th for our gift basket raffle construction effort – and stick around after rehearsal to flex your creative muscle. Additionally, bring along some hand held snacks to share at our post-concert reception on the 30th. Any food items should be non-messy and able to stand at room temperature for a few hours without becoming toxic – food poisoning is so boring. And make them especially delicious in case there are leftovers – cause you will need to take them home with you.

Mountains are Dancing people! Be ready to move the earthy by 9:30 sharp tomorrow.